When then-Gov. George W. Bush ran for president 2000, his office released a treasure trove of information relating to his years as Texas' chief executive.

Some 3,125 pages detailing Bush's appointments during 1995-1998 allowed news organizations to remark on the exact number of lobbyists and campaign donors he met with. The records showed which state lawmakers Bush conferred with - and on what subject - and detailed how much time he spent reviewing capital punishment cases prior to executions. The records showed when he arrived at the office, when he took time off for the gym, and when he went home.

In short, the documents provided a portrait of the leadership style of a candidate for president of the United States.

Now, as Gov. Rick Perry embarks on a presidential campaign, it is unlikely the public will access records that provide many revealing details about his decade-long tenure as governor. While Perry extols open government -- most recently challenging Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke to "open the books" of the nation's central bank -- he has adopted policies that shroud his own office in a purposeful opaqueness that confounds prying reporters -- or any member of the public questioning his policies.

He has been governor longer than anyone in Texas history, but there is a lot the public does not know about Rick Perry. Where does he go each day, and with whom does he talk? What is discussed when he meets with top state agency executives? How does he evaluate a clemency request from a death row inmate? Or an application for a grant from his Emerging Technology Fund? Those are just some of the questions left largely unanswered by Perry's decisions to bar the public from viewing details of his travel, his daily schedule and most of his emails.

Over the last decade, the Perry administration has withheld information in response to some 100 open records requests, instead seeking review by the Texas Attorney General's Office.

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In two cases in the last year, Perry's office acknowledges it failed to meet legal deadlines for responding to the requests, or otherwise delayed in violation of well-established procedures outlined in the Texas Public Information Act.

Most of the withheld documents involved contracts, bidding and oversight of programs in which state money flows to entrepreneurs, privately-held companies and universities from Perry's two economic development funds, the Emerging Technology Fund and the Texas Enterprise Fund. In some cases, the requests involve entities headed by Perry campaign donors and political appointees. Perry also chose to withhold information when third parties complained they would release proprietary information or violate trade secrets.

"The governor follows all disclosure requirements as required by the state and has led the charge to increasing transparency in state government," said spokeswoman Catherine Frazier. "He has led by example, putting the check register for the governor's office online so that citizen's can clearly and easily see how their tax dollars are being spent. State agencies, at the governor's request have followed suit."